Boobie

 Yesterday, I went searching for some information in an old blog post. One of the posts that popped up in my search was a lament on how much I missed my dog.  The dog in question was Lucy the Wonder Dog, who left us in 2014 after brightening our lives for a little over 13 years.  I STILL miss her.

But this does not lessen our attachment to her successor, who joined our journey in 2017. 

Josie is 6 1/2 years old, now, but it seems she hasn’t stopped growing and changing…I hesitate to call it “maturing,” because she’s anything but mature.  She’s the polar opposite of Lucy.  Where Lucy was reserved, quiet, obedient and eager to please, Josie is…well, none of those things.  

It can be said that they each shared our home under completely opposite circumstances, and maybe that has caused the night and day differences between them.  Lucy was with us during a time of our lives when we were working a jillion hours and were not home enough to really support having a dog.  But she made do with half a dozen cats to keep her company, and with us lavishing attention on her when we were available.  

Josie, on the other hand, spent 2 1/2 years of COVID lockdown with us. Thirty months where we basically went nowhere and were home ALL THE TIME.  I guess we have to admit, this has “spoiled” her to the max.  

Josie was never a “normal” dog. It took at least a year for her to decide she liked us well enough to actually integrate into the family.  She’s never been food motivated, so she was very difficult to train.  Treats didn’t appeal to her, and the “Mom voice”  seemed to slip right over her head. There were times when I thought we had made a colossal mistake taking on a puppy at that time…I even briefly considered “re-homing” her.  But, no. We stuck it out.

And now we have this funny, bossy companion who announces any and all delivery vehicles that so much as drive by the property.  She fancies herself the Cat Police—any time a feline steps out of line, she is right in their face to give them what for.  

Plus, she has become hilariously vocal.  As the above video will attest.

When Josie first joined the family, the husband took to calling her “Jobu”—after some obscure  voo-doo god that was featured in the movie “Major League.”  “We’ll call her ‘Boobie’ for short!” he declared, to which I answered, “No. We will not have a dog named “Boobie.”

But, of course, that’s exactly what he calls her. And she answers to it. Luckily, she also answers to her actual name, so I have not had to stoop to calling her “Boobie.” 

But the fact is, she IS a boobie.  As depicted in the video above.

And she brightens our lives every day.